Hamlin was first off pit road to restart the final segment in the lead. Only one of the nine remaining drivers – which started with an 18-driver field – took four tires for the last segment, that being Ryan Newman, starting his tenure with Richard Childress Racing.

All other drivers took two tires and added fuel.

Hamlin led 24 of the first 55 laps across the first two segments.

And as if to add insult to injury, the pace car caught fire on the pace laps to prepare to start the final segment. The pace car was quickly brought to a halt and track fire and safety personnel converged upon it to put out the small blaze — certainly nothing like the inferno that took place in the 2012 Daytona 500 when Juan Pablo Montoya slammed into the rear of a track jet dryer.

Blame the full moon – that’s as logical an explanation as anything of such a strange night.

Screw Ambrose! Seriously he sucks at plate racing. The race was good I say and better vs a year ago. Denny won’t be winning the 500 as history isn’t on his side with winning the Shootout & 500 during Speedweeks. I also did predict that Danica that wouldn’t finish tonight and was correct.

Shove them defective strobe lights and batteries up Uranus and you would start of fire. Rather than use that brain cell to figure out that the cars in the showroom do not have those lights you bust on the brand. typical low information traitor. Go drive your defective Toyota into a wall because your brakes are defective.

I have said for years that the electrical systems on Chevy cars suck! (actually pretty much the entire GMC line) And…here is the proof. It’s why our sheriff’s department dumped ALL their Chevy patrol vehicles within one month one year. And why the PD here is having their Crown Vics completely re-built rather than buy any Chevy junk to replace the Crown Vics.

LOL!!! Replace that thing with a Ford Mustang…it’s look better, go faster and last longer than that Chevy junk!

that electrical system was placed into the car by the track to make it blink and such, They are called after market strobe lights. a ford mustang would have burned to the ground with all of the junk plastic parts on it.

The cause was after market strobe lights that shorted. stop all of the nonsense you know that the car off the showroom does not come with those lights. Any car would have suffered the same fate due to the faulty AFTER MARKET STROBE LIGHTS.